In honor of National Read Across America Day on March 2, the Cowboys Class Acts program sought to cultivate a love for literature and emphasize the importance of reading education by awarding two DFW teachers with grants to help enrich their students’ lives.
The goal of Dallas Cowboys’ Cowboys Class Acts program, powered by Reliant energy, is to celebrate and highlight the hard work of local educators who exemplify excellence by leading and encouraging their students.
The 2021-2022 Cowboys Class Acts program came to a close with a presentation that featured Reliant Vice President Andrea Russell, the Cowboys Mascot Rowdy, the Reliant Mascot Hugo, and Cowboys legend George Teague, according to the statement on The Hub.
Two Dallas ISD teachers, Christine Rodriguez of F.P. Caillet Elementary and Patricia Cortez of Casa View Elementary, were each given a $4,000 grant during the presentation.
The grants are to be used for “enriching the lives of their school and communities,” The Hub reported.
According to the Cowboys website, Cowboys Class Acts showcases hardworking teachers in the DFW area each month out of the school year by choosing a teacher to honor. Both teachers who received grants were among the six recognized by the program this year.
Christine Rodriguez, honored in January, has been teaching in Dallas for 22 years.
Most of Rodriguez’s time in education has been spent working with disabled children. After she got her teaching certification, she began working in the activities of daily living educational program for children with severe disabilities at Caillet Elementary, where she has taught for the last 16 years.
“She supports her students with exceptional compassion and dedication and brings her experience … and passions to her classroom,” The Hub stated, adding that she ensures the children feel safe, secure, and well-cared for while providing them with optimal education.
Patricia Cortez was the February honoree, and is highly respected in the entire Dallas community.
From 1995 to 2003, Cortez was a student at Casa View Elementary. After several years of study, she returned as a teacher.
“She is especially gifted at working with Emergent Bilingual students on Math concepts and she constantly and patiently develops number fluency, vocabulary and problem-solving skills in her class,” The Hub reported, noting students love Cortez “because she is kind, loving, fun, and cares about them.”
Cortez was also praised for her willingness to help other teachers with math, technology, classroom management, and class coverage.
The Dallas Cowboys took to Facebook to share how the team had spent National Read Across America Day.
“Today we celebrated with #DallasCowboys Legend George Teague & Reliant Energy ® by reading one of our favorite books to students at Liscano Elementary School!” the post read.
It included pictures of Mascot Rowdy and players hanging out with teachers and students.
“We’re excited to celebrate #ReadAcrossAmerica Day with the Dallas Cowboys!” Reliant shared in their own Facebook post. “Today we recognized two outstanding Dallas ISD teachers with $4k grants each and books for their classroom libraries as part of Cowboys Class Acts powered by Reliant.”